In 2014, Washington was fortunate not to have any officers killed in the line of duty.However, we as an organization know that this is a trend that is not likely to be sustained.On average, Washington State loses two officers a year who are killed in the line of duty.

The Behind the Badge Foundation offers support to those families of fallen officers.Police funerals cannot be paid using public funds.To keep the family of fallen officers from bearing considerable costs of the memorial service for honoring their loved ones, the foundation covers the costs of in-the-line of duty funerals.Behind the Badge is instrumental in helping families cope with the loss of a loved one and assisting with the family’s financial burden.

The Behind the Badge Foundation also maintains the Law Enforcement Memorial located in Olympia, WA. Through both private and corporate donations, the Behind the Badge Foundation makes sure that our fallen officers are not forgotten and that the ones closest to them are taken care of.

Our goal is to assist in helping support the Behind the Badge Foundation and those families in need.To accomplish this, we organized the Fun with the Fuzz 5k.The Fun with the Fuzz 5k is a road race that is put on by active Bellingham Police officers. Starting and ending at the downtown police station, the race winds through the streets of Bellingham and is open to both runners and walkers. 100% of the proceeds are donated directly to the Behind the Badge Foundation.

In the first five years, the Fun with the Fuzz 5k has raised over $140,000 that has been donated directly to the Behind the Badge Foundation.

The sixth annual Fun with the Fuzz 5k was another huge success. There were 1,462 participants and raised approxomatley $35,000.